This invention relates to fastenings for attaching vitreous toilet bowls to the conventional plumbing coupling and bathroom floor and more particularly to a bolt structure that facilitates the positioning of the bowl and the installation and removal of the fastening means.
A ceramic water closet or toilet bowl is ordinarily connected to the sewer outlet pipe by means of an intermediate flanged coupling inserted through a hole in the bathroom floor. The coupling is secured to the flooring and connected to the sewer pipe. The flange of the coupling has an outer diameter greater than that of the hole in the flooring and has screw holes for screwing the flange securely to the flooring. The flange is also provided with two or more arcuate slots, having one enlarged end adapted to receive the head of a bolt. The bolts, generally referred to as closet bolts, are provided with a head of generally oval configuration of a dimension permitting insertion of the head through the enlarged end of the slot. The bolt is then slipped into the narrow portion of the slot where the head engages the underside of the slot and thereby secures the bolt to the flange. A wax sealing ring seals the outlet of the water closet to the sewer line.
The ceramic toilet bowl or water closet is provided with bolt-receiving holes in its base so that the threaded shafts of the closet bolts inserted in the slots will project upward through the base of the water closet. Suitable washers and nuts are then engaged with the bolts and tightened to hold the bowl firmly in place against the flooring. That portion of the threaded shaft of the bolt extending above the nut is cut or broken off and the nut is covered by a decorative ceramic cover. In certain situations the hole in the flooring may extend beneath the slot, and the bolt head, which is expected to rest upon the flooring to hold the bolt in place while positioning the bowl, instead falls through the flooring. The oval configuration of the head is for the purpose of positioning the greatest dimension of the oval transverse to the slot for greater holding strength. However, during turning of the nut on the shaft, the bolt head may be rotated to a less useful orientation. Ocassionally, when tightening the nut, the bolt rotates freely in the slot, especially if some of the threads are damaged, making it difficult to tighten the nuts. Occasionally, when attempting to position the bowl correctly over the bolts, the bolts are displaced from their vertical position. Whenever the bowl has been lowered into place and then must be lifted off again to correct a bolt position, the wax ring must be replaced. Another more common problem relates to removal of the nuts from the bolts. The nuts may be frozen to the bolts by corrosion, or cutting the excess shaft may have damaged the threads so that the nut does not unscrew freely from the bolt, necessitating cutting off the nut in very confined quarters.
Lassa, U.S. Pat. No. 2,436,070 puts a plate beneath the slot to prevent the bolt from falling through. Barber, U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,722 bolts the flange from above the bowl base. Pepper, U.S. Pat. No. 3,846,851 teaches a flange with slot edges that grip the shaft of the bolt. DeAngelis, U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,052 teaches nuts above and below the slot for securing the shaft. Flood, U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,215 teaches a captive washer to prevent the bolt from falling thru. Sakow, U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,629 teaches a resilient washer for bending into the flange to prevent drop-through and rotation and to maintain bolt upright and a partially cut-through shaft for snapping off excess. Forster, U.S. Pat. No. 939,001 teaches a shoulder on the bolt engaging the upper surface of the flange to prevent the bolt falling through the floor. Kundel, U.S. Pat. No. 753,588 teaches a lock washer. And Bedford, U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,680 teaches a bolt for a blind hole that includes a spring element on a shoulder.